The first time I watched Captain Marvel I thought it was a well-made film, but I did not like it. I could never really figure out why. This time around, I want to really analyze the disconnect between a relatively solid Marvel movie and the audience.

There are several good things that made Captain Marvel enjoyable. First, the humor was given more presence than other Marvel movies. I loved watching Nick Fury love the little cat. I kept waiting for him to lose his eye, and there were several scenes where he came close. The real reason he wears an eye patch is hilarious.

Second, the action fight scenes were decent for marvel. They were not the best fights I’ve seen Marvel produce, but they were not bad. Perhaps if it was a more even battle, I would have liked it more.

Third, I liked that the movie was female-empowering. At times it felt a little forced, but seeing Carol Danvers, Maria Rambeau, and doctor Mar-Vell dominate male fields was nice.

On the other hand, there were issues with the movie in terms of the backbone and plot. I feel like the movie poses like a good action movie until a further inspection in its lack of depth.

To start off, the beginning with the Kree is hard to follow unless you are an expert in the Marvel Universe. For the broad audience, this is really confusing. Not to mention, the movie has a really slow start, making this issue even more problematic.

Next, the whole you are actually working for the bad guys is a little obvious. First, we see her “allies” talk with Ronan, the evil blue guy from Guardians of the Galaxy. Second, they are Kree, which anyone who knows the Marvel Universe knows they are bad. Last, they continuously try to control her and tell her to be a good soldier.

Another plot issue is the lack of climax. Unlike many other Marvel films, there is no final boss battle hype. Carol Danvers just walks through the steps of her life trying to recover her memories, switches sides, and completes her mission from Mar-Vell. There is a lack of stakes because she is invincible. The movie never really gave Captain Marvel a fall. What I mean by this is she never loses a battle. She just keeps winning until she beats her old captain in the final battle. All heroes need a losing moment to pick themselves up. She only wins, leaving her to be two-dimensional.

When considering Marvel’s expertise in the Avenger Universe and great reputation, Captain Marvel is a well-made film. However, the storyline lacks depth, causing a disconnect between Captain Marvel and the audience. The viewers’ emotions are not invested and never see Carol’s fighting side. Yes, we can obviously see that she is a fighter, especially in her backstory, but she never loses enough for the audience to relate to. Viewers cannot connect with someone who lives life in a straight upward line without any dropping points of failure. It is just not realistic.

I felt like it is a good movie in regards to how there are easter eggs to other Marvel movies. Given how this took place before all the other Avenger movies, it gave us a backstory. The audience enjoys seeing characters and events and saying “I know that person!” However, the story is unfulfilling because Carol Danvers got her powers and became unrelatable.